Singapore-based healthcare startup Ordinary Folk gets $5M to fight stigma

Ordinary Folk, a Singapore-based startup dedicated to men and women's health issues, has raised $5 million in pre-Series A funding. The funding will be used to hire and expand into Hong Kong.

The startup was founded in 2020 by Sean Low and has two main platforms: Noah is for men's sexual health, mental health, hair care and weight management, and Zoey is for sexual health, fertility, mental health and wellbeing.

Ordinary Folk was started by Low to make it easier to seek care for stigmatized conditions.

Men and women's health conditions are intimate problems that affect all of us at some point in our lives.

There are many similarities between Singapore and Hong Kong, which is why the company chose Hong Kong as its next market. Both are fast-paced and densely-populated, with healthcare systems that have the same issues.

High healthcare costs, fear of illegitimate medication, and the stigma attached to men and women's health conditions are issues that both Singaporeans and Hong Kongers identify with.

Ordinary Folk says it has had over a million unique visitors since it was launched. Low said that it differentiates from other telemedicine startup by building a full healthcare stack, including healthcare and logistics for medication in non-description packaging.

Ordinary Folk was able to create a health assessment for patients before they were able to schedule an appointment.

In the case of sexual health, having to answer intimate questions can be tough and what more to a stranger. The health assessment was developed with the help of doctors and health experts. Ordinary Folk has a network of providers that include physicians, psychologists, therapists and other specialists.

Millions of people across Asia find it difficult to access proper treatment and care for health conditions that have tremendous taboo attached. Ordinary Folk is uniquely positioned to bring in value through the consumer journey of healthcare services, creating an ecosystems where patients have access to medical experts and products, and a wide range of treatment options.